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Summary List of stories Phase II Night: Ashes, Metal, And Corruption << chapter 48 Chapter 49 of 75 Family Ties chapter 50 >> << previous scene Scene 1 of 2 next scene >> Location Participants Time Summary Prologue | Phase I | Phase II | Epilogue 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 Text Applejack sat quietly at the downstairs table by herself in the early hours of the morning, sipping slowly at a glass of whiskey sitting out on the table in front of her. She hadn't been able to sleep much, all-in-all... but that was understandable, she thought. Not just because she'd gotten used to short nights and long, long days with fussy Avalon, but because of what she had seen. Valor: it had been her, and she wondered if this was what Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie had felt when they had seen Delight. Not just another pony, not just a pony that resembled her, but a version of her from another layer of reality. A twisted-on-itself 'evil' version... except what scared her was that by now, she knew 'good' and 'evil' were just easy labels they stuck onto friends and enemies as they saw fit. Slowly, Applejack picked up the bottle and refilled her glass, sighing a little as she looked down at the liquid and grimaced a little. She rubbed her hoof along the rim of it gently, and then she closed her eyes, murmuring: "Too damn early for this on one end, but... ain't too late for it, either." She sighed, then picked it up and knocked it back before slamming the glass down and shaking her head out briskly. It made her shiver, just like poking at Antares' scary little doll Gymbr made her shiver... if she had never believed before that something like a toy could be malicious, she sure as hell did now. And worse than that, if she had found it hard to believe – or at least been able to pretend it was hard to believe – that she could never become the monster she had in Discombobulation's strange story, after seeing Valor... she wondered just how little a push it would really take to descend into that deep, dark abyss... But likewise, she had seen other things she had never expected, too. She had seen a demon rampaging furiously against a Clockwork monstrosity, striving to rip it into pieces, fighting it hoof-to-hoof, the fight that Applejack felt she herself should have fought against it. After all, Pinkamena had already all-but-sacrificed herself in one battle to take down a Clockwork Pony... but then again, Applejack wasn't dumb or arrogant enough to think she would have stood a real chance of doing much more to that monster than she already had. Delight had been horrible, invulnerable and evasive... but Valor had been built for war. "Enforcer of Rules, ain't that right?" Applejack smiled wryly, looking down as she glanced up at the bottle... then sighed, picking up the cork and shoving it firmly back into place in the bottle's neck. "That makes real sense... good ol' responsible AJ, right?" She sighed a little, then shook her head grumpily before finally forcing herself to her hooves. She was vaguely aware of what she was doing as she put the bottle away, still consumed with her thoughts, then she headed up to her bedroom to find that Rainbow Dash had swept up most of the blankets while she was gone. She smiled despite herself, though, shaking her head and murmuring: "Y'ain't one of those husbands who wake up and come comfort their wife when she sneaks off for drink or two, but... I still wouldn't trade you for the world." Applejack shook her head a bit, then turned and slipped back out of the bedroom to check on Avalon while she was up. She opened the door to the nursery slowly and carefully, peering almost nervously inside... and as expected, the crib was empty and the mesh covering that fitted over it to stop a Pegasus foal from escaping had been knocked out of place. Applejack sighed a bit: her daughter was already more stubborn than both she and Dash had ever been, and always pushed madly towards what she wanted. She'd live a great life... as long as she didn't get herself bitten in the flank too many times. The earth pony studied the nursery carefully from the doorway: the floors were thickly-matted, and there was padding over all the sharp corners in the room. It looked a little silly, but with Avalon able to force her way up and out of her crib when she wanted, it was also necessary. Just like they were always careful to put everything away in the foal-proof drawers and cabinets. Finally, Applejack spotted her daughter's tiny form curled up amidst her collection of large stuffed animals with a pacifier in her mouth, and she sighed in relief as she strode into the room. She paused by the crib for a moment, then smiled a little and opened the top screen before sweeping up Avalon's blanket, carrying this over to the toddler and gently tucking her in before she leaned down and kissed her forehead softly. Avalon mumbled and shifted quietly, and Applejack smiled again before she shook her head and turned, heading back to the door and letting herself carefully, quietly out. She closed it tightly, making sure Avalon wouldn't be able to lever it open if she woke up – the battering she gave the door was bad enough without her zooming around the house, causing mayhem – and then she touched the door quietly with a hoof before murmuring: "I love you, Avalon. I always will." Applejack leaned against the door for a moment, then she sighed and turned her eyes back down the hall, heading back to her bedroom. She knew Apple Bloom was out in the barn with Scarlet Sage without needing to check – she had seen the lantern light while helping herself to a drink – and she was pretty sure that Big Mac had taken a bunch of painkillers before bed, meaning he would be out like a light until morning. But they didn't have much work to do: most of the harvest was done, and with the Nibelung laborers on staff and friends always ready to help out, she and Rainbow Dash could finish up the work without too much trouble. Then it would just be a matter of cleaning everything up to wait out winter, although there would still be a lot of work to do... there was always a lot of work to do. All the same, Applejack smiled as she slipped into bed: busy hooves were happy hooves. And then she laughed a bit when she felt two strong hooves gently rub up along her back, then slide around her waist and pull her close, Rainbow kissing the back of her neck gently as he murmured: "Can't sleep?" "Shows how much you care, Dashie, waiting for me to come back to bed and all." Applejack smiled despite herself over her shoulder, but then laughed quietly when the Pegasus nuzzled against the side of her neck and pulled her closer back against him, feeling him pressing his head into her mane as she murmured softly: "Thank you." Dash only smiled a bit, and the two ponies stayed close as they drifted slowly off together into sleep together until the sun began to rise, and they were both awakened, curled together and pushing tiredly at each other at the sound of Avalon banging loudly on her door to be let out, giving angry little yells now and then. Finally, Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other, and then Rainbow held up a hoof and said mildly: "I'll do breakfast if you deal with Avalon." "Do I look stupid to you? I'm tired as hell, not dumb as hell." Applejack yawned as she sat up, but then nodded, saying grumpily: "But okay, okay. You make breakfast, you do the dishes, and you spend the rest of the morning helping out the harvesters. And I'll take care of Avalon" "Deal." Rainbow said immediately, and he and Applejack punched their hooves together lightly before Rainbow flopped back down in bed, making the earth pony mare glower. "I know, I know. I'll be up in ten minutes or so. Besides, you're gonna have fun getting Avalon." Rainbow paused, then grinned over at her. "Can you get me first?" "Not with our daughter about to break down her door." Applejack replied dryly, and Rainbow huffed, then yawned loudly as Applejack made her way out of the bedroom, adding over her shoulder: "Pancakes would be real nice!" Rainbow mumbled something in return, and Applejack only smiled as she made her to her daughter's room... then winced when the door shuddered loudly before wild babbling rose up behind it, and Applejack sighed, counted to three, then quickly shoved the door open. Avalon shot out and rammed into her, and Applejack winced, barely catching the hyperactive little filly in her forelegs as she was knocked sprawling. Avalon immediately stared back and forth in surprise, eyes wide and reminding the mare all too much of a predatory hawk looking for prey as she said mildly: "Morning to you, Ava. Now, what have we said about making such a ruckus and doin' that to your door?" "No!" Avalon declared, and Applejack didn't know if the filly was arguing with her or actually answering her question. Then the filly looked back and forth grumpily before flapping her wings, then suddenly simply dropping her head against Applejack and curling up to go back to sleep. Applejack sighed a little, looking down at her daughter and wondering not for the first time if she was narcoleptic before she shook her head, checking her diaper before carefully slipping the tiny Pegasus up onto her back. She started for the stairs, and was surprised when the door down the hall opened and Big Mac groggily emerged, and she smiled warmly – and with more than a hint of relief – over at him as he gazed at her for a moment, then simply nodded. "Mornin', Big Mac. How's your head?" Applejack asked softly, and the red stallion hesitated a moment, then he gave her a small smile that told her everything she needed to know, making her chuckle a little. "Well, make sure you take it slow today then, huh? Don't want to go hurting your head or those ribs of yours any more than they already are. Just lucky we're a little ahead of schedule for the season." Big Mac nodded after a moment, and then brother and sister fell into step beside each other as they headed for the stairs. They were silent as they strode down them together side-by-side, and then Applejack sighed a little as they made their way towards the kitchen, asking quietly: "So last night..." The crimson stallion grunted, and Applejack gave him a flat look as they strode to the table. "Well, it has been botherin' me. That thing was me, Macintosh. How could that not bother me? Especially after... well, you know." Big Mac gave her a pointed look, but then he leaned up, gently taking Avalon off her back and slipping the foal into her high chair, and Applejack paused to watch this, softening a bit. The gentle giant of a stallion was the only one between herself and everypony else in the family who could successfully maneuver Avalon around while asleep without waking her up. It made Applejack smile a little, softening as the stallion carefully strapped the foal in so she couldn't fly away, and then he glanced mildly over at Applejack as she said softly: "Real talkative this morning, eh?" The red stallion smiled back after a moment, then he turned towards the fridge, saying softly: "Sorry, AJ. Guess I ain't feeling too good after everything that happened... I let that thing walk right up to me, and next thing I know, Scarlet Sage and Apple Bloom are leaning over me, trying to take care of me and the whole mess is over and done with." Applejack nodded, gazing at her brother softly, and Big Mac sighed a little, then added quietly over his shoulder: "And you don't need to be worrying your head over this. You ain't Valor. And you ain't gonna become Valor, either, and nor are you gonna become that Applejack from that story. It was just a story, AJ; now I ain't saying stories can't hurt you... but it's our choice to let 'em hurt us, 'cause they only have the power we give 'em. Don't give it power, AJ. Acknowledge it, but remember who you are, too." The goldenrod mare nodded again slowly as Big Mac dug the baby formula out of the fridge, and Applejack couldn't help but smile as she stepped forwards to help him put together Avalon's breakfast, saying softly: "You know that's my daughter there, not yours, right? Still. Amazes me that you do all this stuff so... so well." "Well, I had to learn it all a long time ago... and some things are worth remembering." Big Mac smiled a little at her, and then both he and his younger sister winced when Avalon woke up with a yell of outrage as she surveyed her surroundings. "Don't think Apple Bloom was ever that bad, though." "She ain't 'bad,' just... needs to learn a little discipline. This is all Dash's fault." Applejack said finally, and Big Mac gave her an amused look. "That's perfectly fair. Hell, sometimes Dash even agrees with me." Avalon was flailing violently around in her high chair, but after a few minutes, tired herself out. And once Applejack approached to begin feeding her some of the mushy baby food, the child calmed down and became complacent. That was another reason why she liked to blame Dash: the one sure way to get Avalon to calm down was to give her something to eat. When the foal was done, she looked grumpily around, as if trying to decide whether or not she wanted to throw another tantrum, and Applejack winced a bit even as she carefully wiped her filly's face clean. But after another few moments, the Pegasus foal sniffed loudly... then simply dropped forwards in the high-chair and went to sleep again, and Applejack sighed in relief before she smiled amusedly over at Mac. "We really gotta see a doctor about this or something." "You see a doctor 'bout problems that need to be fixed, AJ, not blessings." Big Mac replied mildly, and Applejack laughed despite herself. "Sure, it's a little funny, but... babies do lots of funny things. That, and Avalon spends so much of her time shooting around..." "Okay, okay. You got a good point. I just wish she wasn't like a switch. Lights on or lights off, never in between, you know what I mean?" Applejack smiled amusedly over at her brother, then looked up with entertainment when Rainbow Dash finally strode in, freshly-showered and whistling cheerfully to himself. "There you are! Took you long enough, me and Mac are starving here, and Avalon's already eaten." "Yeah, well, she's always eating. I could make some little pancakes for her too, though." Rainbow said helpfully, before he looked awkwardly over his shoulder at the two earth ponies. "If. You two help me a little with recipe again." Applejack smiled despite herself, shaking her head before she glanced over at Big Mac. "You mind seeing if the girls are up while I remind Mister Amazing how to pour water in a bowl?" "Yup." Big Mac smiled over at her, shaking his head as the Pegasus huffed, and then the crimson stallion turned and made his way out of the kitchen, chuckling a little to himself. When he came back with bleary Scarlet Sage and Apple Bloom in tow, breakfast was well on its way, and Avalon was glowering around, grumbling in her high chair. After a few particularly-nasty cooking incidents, they knew much better then to allow the foal to come down from her chair or out of her playpen while they were cooking anything. Avalon would shoot right for the food, not yet really understanding just what would happen if she collided with the hot stove, and more than once she had almost badly burned herself. Really, they were lucky the foal was tiny and tough: they had thought about investing in protective gear of some kind for the baby, but it was difficult enough just getting her in a diaper, and after once trying to fit a helmet on Avalon they had quickly learned that was just begging for trouble when she had promptly rammed into a wall and knocked a hole in it. It was amazing that Avalon wasn't dead, really, with her habit of charging angrily into things: even more, that she almost never cried, or at least not from hurting herself. She was a little steel-bodied bullet. And it made Rainbow Dash feel incredibly proud of her even in spite of all the damage she did and the bruises she gave him and everyone around her. The Pegasus smiled as he finished the first batch of pancakes, working alongside Applejack, feeling like the young lovers they had once been in that moment as they bumped their sides together and traded a warm look. Then he gazed over his shoulder, gazing over his family: Big Mac, sipping a coffee and resting his other hoof on Avalon's head as she flailed violently at him, burbling rapidly away, and Apple Bloom with her head resting on Scarlet Sage's shoulder. Small, but important, he knew, as he smiled a little at the girls before shaking his head and turning his eyes back forwards, going back to cooking as Applejack leaned in and kissed his cheek, and he pressed against her for a moment in a gesture of silent thanks. They were a weird family, but a good family. Applejack was still called the most dependable pony in Ponyville, but she had long pushed past the paranoia and fear and everything related with striving to keep that title and never let anyone down. She had learned to put herself sometimes before others... and understand that her friends and her own opinion of herself were all much more important than what others thought of her in passing. And Rainbow, he was still treated a little funny by some of the people in Ponyville, but that was okay. He was a little funny sometimes, after all, and he wasn't referring to the whole 'once-a-mare' thing. Being part of this family had taught him a lot, though... Big Mac had shared a lot of wisdom with him, and Applejack helped him feel strong, reminded him there were plenty of reasons to keep his hooves on the ground. He never thought of himself as a mare who had become a stallion anymore, either. He was a stallion, plain and simple. He always had been, whatever he'd once looked like, and that was that. It was hard to understand unless someone knew just what he was talking about, but... he knew he was lucky that a lot of people in his life weren't exactly normal people. Which made it even funnier how he'd ended up with Miss Dependable... and he smiled over at Applejack, thinking after a moment as she smiled back: Nah. Maybe that's the only part that makes perfect sense, after all. It didn't take the two too long to finish enough pancakes to go around before they served them out, Avalon babbling loudly: most of her words didn't make sense to anypony, but Applejack and Rainbow both smiled at her before she fell silent and stared the moment Rainbow put a small, cut-up pancake in front of the filly. A bit of drool fell from the filly's mouth... and then she mashed her face down into the plate, greedily trying to shove the food into her mouth as Apple Bloom giggled and Scarlet Sage smiled amusedly, Applejack grinning over at Rainbow and saying mildly: "That's another point towards her being your kid." "Yeah, yeah, I stopped eating like that a long time ago." Rainbow retorted, but he was smiling all the same as he gazed around at his family, feeling again how lucky he was... and determined to do anything and everything he could to make sure they were kept safe from the machinations of Clockwork World. Category:Transcript Category:Story